


Sealing the Deal

by klein_monsti



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossroads Deals & Demons, Episode: s02e22 All Hell Breaks Loose, First Kiss, M/M, Pre-Relationship, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klein_monsti/pseuds/klein_monsti
Summary: Set during 2x22 – Dean goes to sell his soul to a demon and ends up dealing with an angel instead.With his striking blue eyes and tousled dark hair, the suit and tie, and the way he tilted his head at Dean’s question with an honestly confused expression on his face, he looked more like he should sell insurance policies rather than crossroad deals.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 53





	Sealing the Deal

**Author's Note:**

> In which Dean and Castiel meet a bit earlier, namely in All Hell Breakes Loose Part 2 (2x22), when Dean is about to sell his soul to get Sam back.
> 
> Basically this fic is an experiment on what you get if you take scenes from 2x22, 4x01 and 4x21, throw them in a blender together and see what happens.

The crossroad demon started walking away. Dean had offered her his soul in exchange for Sam’s life and 5 years till she could come collect and it still wasn’t enough. He’d boldly said it would be his last offer but still she had declined and was now about to leave. He couldn’t let that happen. He would give her whatever she wanted if only it would bring back Sam. He turned around to call out to her.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down, hitting the demon right where she stood. Blue energy crackled up and down her body as she screamed and sizzled like she’d been doused with holy water. Then just as sudden it was over and she fell to the ground. Dean stared in shock at her still form and the gruesome sight that were the empty sockets where her eyes had been burned out, and tried to wrap his head around what had just happened.

A swoosh of air like the flap of big wings disturbed the once again quite night air and Dean whirled around to find a man standing at the edge of the crossroad like he had just appeared out of nowhere. Slowly the guy started walking towards Dean, his tan trench coat a contrast against the dark of the night. Okay, Dean thought to himself, so apparently a bigger, badder demon had killed the one that Dean had been about to make a deal with, but for what reason? To seal the deal himself? Dean figured it probably brought you lot of reputation down in hell if you managed to bag a hunter. If so, it was fine with Dean, he didn’t care who he made the deal with as long as it meant that he would get Sam back.

“Is that what you do with the competition?”  
The guy was close enough now that Dean could make out more of his appearance. With his striking blue eyes and tousled dark hair, the suit and tie, and the way he tilted his head at Dean’s question with an honestly confused expression on his face, he looked more like he should sell insurance policies rather than crossroad deals.  
“The competition?”, he asked once he stood but a few feet away from Dean.  
Dean simply jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the burned out husk of the demon lying right there.  
“Oh I see”, the other demon said. “Yes, I guess you could refer to them that way.”

The guy’s stiff, clinical demeanour was sort of unsettling. Dean suspected that whatever step of the corporate hell ladder he was on, it was one that didn’t require much costumer contact.  
“Okay then, let’s get this over with then. Same deal I offered her. 5 years.”  
The demon still had the audacity to look confused.  
“Come on, you want my soul, I wanna sell my soul. This should not be this difficult.”

That at least got a reaction.  
“I am not here for your soul, Dean Winchester.”  
Now Dean was the one to be confused.  
“Then why are you here?”  
“To prevent a great calamity. You cannot give yourself over to the legions of hell.”  
Dean felt himself getting angry, it wasn’t like he wanted to become some demon’s little bitch after all. But it was the only way to save Sam and he wouldn’t let anyone stop him from accomplishing that.  
“Sure I can, it’s my damn soul to give.”  
The man across from him levelled him with a stern look. “You don’t understand. There is more at stake here than just your life.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean? Who the hell are you anyway?” Because one thing was for sure, this was not your run-of-the-mill demon Dean was dealing with here.

“My name is Castiel.”  
Dean racked his brain about demon and general supernatural lore but came up empty.  
“Should that ring any bells? I guess I should have asked ‘What the hell are you?’”  
Castiel drew himself up and stood even straighter if such a thing was even possible with the massive stick he apparently had up his ass already as he proclaimed: “I’m an angel of the Lord.”  
“Bullshit.” Dean shot back without hesitation and glared at the being in front of him. “There’s no such thing.”

“This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith.”  
Suddenly the wind picked up, blowing dark clouds over the sky, thunder crashed and then lightning illuminated the crossroad. And there on the asphalt right behind Castiel the light created his shadow as a silhouette, and in contrast to the original, this Castiel had huge wings that stretched out to both sides of him, spanning the entire width of the street.

Dean swallowed thickly. Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes he couldn’t believe it. If angels existed he should have heard of them. Automatically Dean fell back on the weapon that served him best when backed into a corner and that was simply his boldness.  
“Impressive light show. Now tell me, who are you really?”  
Castiel seemed to get even more confused by Dean’s unwillingness to buy into his story.  
“I told you.”  
“Yeah, right.” Dean snorted. “And why would an angel give a damn about what I do with my soul?” It wasn’t like any higher power had ever taken any interest in Dean whatsoever, surely not to help him in any way at least.  
“Because we have a mission for you. Events are being set into motion, events that will eventually lead to what you would refer to as the apocalypse.”  
Yes, Dean thought, this was getting better and better. “The apocalypse?”  
“Yes.” Cas nodded. “If you don’t sell your soul tonight we will have bought ourselves a bit of time but the fight between heaven and hell will ultimately be inevitable and we are going to need your cooperation if we want to have any hope of winning it.”

Dean felt his head spinning. It seemed laughable, the apocalypse, him being the key in preventing it, he who had never been anyone’s first choice. He was just a soldier, expandable, his only mission to keep his little brother save… Sam. That at least brought his thoughts back on track. Angels walking the earth, the end of the world; it didn’t matter. None of it mattered.

“You know what?” He faced Castiel, standing his ground. “I don’t give a crap. If the world is ending, I say let it. Because my brother is dead and right now all I care about is getting him back. And if I have to walk straight into hell and serve my soul up on a silver platter, so be it. The world can burn for all I care.”  
“Your brother wouldn’t want that.”, Castiel said almost gently.  
“Don’t you dare.” Dean spat back. He was gaining steam now. “You don’t know Sam. You don’t get to tell me what he would want.”  
Dean was ready to turn around and walk away even if he ran the risk of ending up like the demon, should Castiel decide that he had had enough of Dean’s antics when Castiel sighed and said:  
“You know, demons are not the only ones who can bring people back from the dead.”

That stopped Dean dead in his tracks. A glimmer of hope sparked in him again.  
“Okay, now we’re talking.” He said quickly. “So we can come to an agreement after all.”  
Castiel seemed to consider this.  
“You are saying that if I was to resurrect your bother you would give yourself over wholly to the service of God and his angels?”  
It sounded ominous put like that but it wasn’t like Dean had a choice. And whatever this guy and his pals up in the clouds had planned for him, could it really be worse than an eternity in hell? And if it was, did it matter? No, not if it brought Sam back.  
“Yes. I will do whatever you want me to do.”

Castiel looked like he was thinking it over again but then he nodded slightly.  
“This is acceptable. We shall seal our deal then.”  
Right, Dean hadn’t really thought about that, not for a second, not even when Castiel had appeared and Dean had figured he was there to take the place of the other demon he’d been negotiating with. All Dean had cared about was salvaging the deal to get Sam back not about how that would come to pass, what it would cost him or, for that matter, what the bureaucratic aspects of this deal would be calling for.

But now he was definitely thinking about it. About how his initial plan would have had him kissing some demon bitch and how now apparently he had ended up with an angel dude instead. It shouldn’t matter. There was nothing sexy or romantic about the whole affair of signing your soul or free will away on a gravely crossroad in the middle of nowhere. And the beings that you made these deals with, be they demons or angels, weren’t even human. Why would Dean care about in what package they came in? But he couldn’t help it. Looking at Castiel across from him, looking at his strong jaw and stubbly chin, he found he did care and the prospect of kissing another guy had always been as strangely tempting as it had been utterly terrifying to Dean.

Best to treat it like a band aid, Dean thought to himself, just rip it off, get it over with. So when Castiel reached out his hand towards him, Dean surged forward and took the initiative, pressing his lips to Castiel’s in a bruising kiss. It was unclear who was more surprised by Dean’s sudden boldness, he himself or Castiel who breathlessly gasped under Dean’s mouth. If Dean still had doubts that Castiel was what he claimed to be, they evaporated over the following seconds. Surely no demon would kiss like this; a bit unsure yet unyielding and quite frankly, utterly divine.

Then Castiel’s hand clasped around his shoulder and a searing pain shot through Dean making him scream and jerk away from Castiel. He stumbled back a few feet and looked down at his own arm. When he didn’t see any damage to his clothes; he pulled up his sleeve to check underneath. And there on his shoulder and upper arm was an angry red handprint seared into his flesh.  
“What the hell?” Dean stared at Castiel indignantly. “You burned me. What the hell did you do that for?”

Castiel for his part looked a bit shaken but like he was trying his best to regain his previous aloof composure.  
“This...” He pointed to the handprint. “is a seal; a claim on your soul. It solidifies our deal.” Castiel looked at the ground and Dean could swear he saw some colour rising to his cheeks as he added: “The ahem… other part was quite unnecessary.”

“Oh.” Dean said, his face starting to burn almost as hot as the brand on his shoulder. “I just figured… with demons you have to kiss them… I assumed it’d be the same, don’t really know why. Hell, that is awkward.”

Castiel mercifully ignored his rambling.  
“You should go back to your brother. He shall be waiting for you. I will call upon you when your services are needed.”  
Still high-strung, Dean stopped himself from making one of his usual quips along the lines of how Castiel should feel free to call on his service anytime he wanted; it was a close call though and he closed his eyes for a moment to calm his frayed nerves. When he opened them again Castiel had vanished.

Taking a deep breath to clear his head, Dean started to walk back to the Impala. He had to check on Sam, see if that angel had truly kept his word. His eyes fell on the brand on his shoulder where the sleeve was still rolled up. He tucked the sleeve back down but he could still feel the handprint throbbing, not exactly painful, but still a reminder that he had promised himself to heaven; to an angel… to Castiel.

* * *

Castiel flew away from the crossroads. He had accomplished his mission but still the encounter with the righteous man had left him rattled. It was as if something strange had embedded itself under his borrowed skin the moment Dean Winchester had so recklessly kissed him. As an angel Castiel had never before felt any sort of uncertainty. Now he wasn’t quite sure what the future was gonna hold.

Years later – after fighting and bleeding alongside Dean, after rebelling against heaven to stand with Dean to defend humanity, after letting Dean take him by the hand and push him down onto a ratty old motel bed – Cas would look back on this moment and realise that it had been him who had signed away his life and his heart that night.

**Author's Note:**

> I must admit I really enjoyed reimagining their first meeting in this different way. This was only meant to be a short what-if but I could now see myself continuing this and see how other key moments would go on this alternate universe.


End file.
